(CNN) - A year ago, Kyle Thompson was a soft-spoken, 115 pound, football-playing freshman whose tug-of-war with a teacher over 'the hit list," a note about kids he wanted to tackle on the field, landed him in handcuffs and ultimately led to his expulsion.

He's still soft spoken, but after eight months on house arrest and self-imposed isolation from friends, he's grown.

Washington (CNN) –– Even though it was Republican party leaders meeting in Washington this week, Hillary Clinton might as well have been there.

In the halls between Republican National Committee meetings, the former secretary of state's name came up in conversation regularly. At a rules committee meeting on Thursday night, Clinton - the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 - was referred to as "she who should not be named." And at the powwow's most-watched events, Republicans pledged a laser-like focus on winning back the White House in 2016.

CNN's GUT CHECK | for January 24, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING …THE NUNS BEAT OBAMACARE …Some religious affiliated non-profits will remain temporarily exempt from requirements in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to cover birth control and other reproductive health coverage they oppose for religious reasons.
That is the result of a Supreme Court decision on Friday that extended an injunction for a Catholic charity run by nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor.
The exemption stands while the case is being considered by the lower courts. It is a clear victory for the religious group and its insurer. – CNN’s Bill Mears

SCOOP FROM “THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER:” Feds hesitated to probe Christie administration: For a time, federal authorities were reluctant to get involved in the Christie controversy. Some officials didn't readily see a federal crime and were wary of opening what one official called potentially "a can of worms." – CNN’s Evan Perez and Shimon ProkupeczFULL POST

(CNN) - A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday will enable a religious-affiliated non-profit and other groups like it to remain temporarily exempt from Obamacare requirements to cover birth control and other reproductive health they oppose for religious reasons.

The justices extended an injunction first granted on an emergency basis just before the New Year for a Catholic charity for the elderly run by nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor.

A baby in one arm and State of the Union preparations in the other, the House GOP's highest ranking woman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers readied for the Republican response to President Barack Obama's annual address while caring for her two-month old baby.

(CNN) - Political rock stars in the night sky. Chris Christie is in early retrograde but he could pull out, Wendy Davis twinkles a little less brightly, while the only star associated with Bob McDonnell these days are worn by lawmen trying to put him in jail. And Rob Ford is, well, Rob Ford – a blinding star.

As long as there has been politics, there have been political rock stars tumble to fallen stars at their own hand.FULL POST

(CNN) - A former U.S. Senate aide who was charged last month with possessing child pornography was found dead Thursday in a Maryland home where he's been living with relatives, the Carroll County Sheriff's Office in Maryland said.

Investigators preliminarily believe Jesse Ryan Loskarn "may have taken his own life," the office said.FULL POST